Gra56

Hi everyone Not sure if I have a problem and have not repoted it to the dealer yet but I would appreciate any comments you may have. Having not used the car for 5 days, when I started it yesterday there was an almighty loud rattle from the engine which lasted for a few seconds. I stopped the engine and restarted but all was quiet and it has not happend since. Now two questions. I seem to remember this may have been a problem with earlier GS models but I cannot find anything on here (so far) to confirm this. Does anyone know if this is the case or what it could be? Secondly, is the engine in the new GS the same as previous models or is it new? Any help/comments on this would be appreciated. As I say, it may not be a problem as it has only happened once and I don't want to go to the dealer yet. Apart from that, everything is running fine at just under 15000 miles. Had a sticking rear break calliper which was fixed at the 10000 mile service but apart from that everything is fine. Only grumble (still) is the poor paint and I can see a bonnet respray soon with all the chips. Anyway, any comments would be appreciated.

Congrats on new car. Just for info I do 90% on motorways and in 14000 miles I have averaged 38.2 mpg. Getting slightly worse now as I use the performance more. Glad you like the IS 300, I had one too and probably the best Lexus I have owned although the new GS is pretty good with all the toys and power.

Not sure if there is a modified design/part but I have just had my near side rear replaced which was sticking and mine is a new 2012 model just 5 months old. Seems to be a common Lexus problem as my IS 250 had the same problem

Hi wendleI havn't noticed any creaks from the light cluster or when I open the boot. I will watch out for this

There is no auto lock feature in the GS confirmed by the dealer and Lexus UK

Well I’ve now completed just short of 6000 hectic miles in the 3 months I owned the car so I thought I would give an update. Some background first. Obviously I am a high mileage driver and cover around 25000 miles per year minimum depending on circumstances. I have owned a total of 5 Lexus cars over the years including IS 250/300, GS 300 and RX450. What I am looking for is a comfortable long distance cruiser and on this point the Lexus doesn’t disappoint. Performance. Most of my driving is at 70/80 on a motorway and at these speeds the car is very refined and quiet. But you also have the reserve of power to overtake safely when needed. Where the car does really well though is on A/B roads where the performance is superb. I regularly travel 40 miles or so on an A road from the motorway to home which has its fair share of Lorries, caravans and tractors. The way you can safely overtake is simply superb. The power just keeps coming and you can overtake quickly and safely with the minimum of fuss. Whatever the situation, putting your foot down gives you the confidence to overtake slower traffic with no drama. Truly superb performance and a firm 10 out of 10. The engine has not used any oil in 6000 miles. Fuel consumption. This to me is one of the strong points. Journeys around town when using the hybrid motor shows 42-45mpg with ease on the dash. Motorway cruising at 70/80 shows low to mid 30’s depending on how often you use your right foot. Although fuel consumption has increased slightly with the colder weather overall consumption measured by actual fuel used has come out at 38.6 mpg. To me this is excellent when you consider that it is a 3.5 litre engine with £125 road tax. I have no doubt you could better this with more careful driving but I have no desire to do so. Comfort/Build quality/toys Overall this car is superbly comfortable and very quiet when cruising. Journeys can be completed easily without any problems and it is a joy to drive long distances. Build quality is excellent with no rattles or creaks and the quality of the materials is good. All the toys are there and work well but I am not sure about the air con with its “nanoe” technology. Having tried it extensiveyl with and without the nanoe switched on I must admit I can’t tell any difference so to me I am not quite sure why it is there. The blind spot indicators on the mirrors seemed like a good idea but they seem to light up too often even when I am travelling early morning on deserted roads. Spooky! Not sure if there is a problem with it. The one thing I do like though is the automatic high beam for the lights. This works very well and is one of the better toys. Faults This was going to be zilch but in the last few days I have started to have a “clonk” from the real left wheel when I press the brakes. Experience with Lexus suggests this is a sticking brake calliper which I have had on the last 3 cars so it is booked into the dealers later this week. Not a fault as such but I have noticed that leaves and other debris has collected in the air intake below the number plate and are collecting against the bottom half of the radiator. As you cannot easily reach in there is no easy way of getting them out that I can see and I will have to get the dealer to look at it otherwise there could be a problem with overheating particularly if we have any summer next year. Niggles Not many really. I am really annoyed that there is no facility to auto lock the doors (as I was told) and this is a strange omission on a car costing 51k. Also, I was away overnight last week and the car windsreen had iced up in the frost overnight. So I went to swith on the heating element at the bottom of the screen to de ice the wipers only to find that it is not fitted on this car. The manual clearly shows the switch for it in the diagram but other than that no mention of it. My last 3 Lexus's had so not sure why they have now decided not to fit it although as I say the air con screen picture in the manual shows it. The only other niggle if that is the right word is the paint. It is absolutely terrible and the front bumper , bonnet and wings are showing many chips. I try to drive carefully and not too close to the car if front but it doesn’t matter what I do, there are more chips after every journey. This car will look a complete mess in a years’ time. A friends Audi A4 which is 2 years old and 40000 miles looks pristine with just half a dozen or so chips. This is one area Lexus need to improve. They look great in the showroom but the paint is not durable enough. This is the worst Lexus I have owned for paint chips Overall then I am generally happy with the car. It is comfortable, fast, has all the toys and to me has excellent fuel economy for a car of this class. It is perhaps the best Lexus I have owned although I do still miss my old IS300 from a few years ago which was a much underrated car. All Lexus need to do is improve the paint quality and add auto locking and the GS would be near perfect. Hate to think what this car will be worth in a couple of years with 50k on the clock though

The RX450 DOES have rear wash/wipe. Certainly mine did!

Good report and I am pleased you are still happy with the car. How I agree about the constant sat nav warnings which does get a bit tiresome. The fuel consumption is good in my opinion for this size of car. I had a IS250 which after 100k miles in 3 years averaged about 34 mpg so overall not bad .I will do a report on mine soon which has now got just over 4 k on the clock.

Just a quick message to all the new owners out there including Siler Arrow and wendle. When you bought your new car, was it already at the dealers in the showroom or did they order from central stock? Also, when you picked up the car how many miles were on the clock? Although I am very pleased with my car there is something that is bugging me in what the dealer told me. I won't explain at present but I would like to hear any answers to my questions first before I reveal all !

Hi wendle I was persuaded by the dealer to have supagard which I have never done before on the basis the car would be more resitant to chips and will hold the shine better. Well yes it does look better particularly when cleaned but as for protcting from chips no way. I do a lot of motorway so I suppose that is the reason. Mind you I had an Audi A4 which 110000 miles and that had less chips than my IS 250

One thing to mention, I tried to but a boot liner but apparently they are not available in the UK yet. Quite shocking for a car thats been on sale since June

I had a IS 250 as well which was a fabulous car but suffered badly from paint chips. In my opinion Lexus are quite bad compared to Mercs, Audi and BMW. Strange though me last cat RX450 had less chips /paint damage over 2 years than all the previous cars. On fule consumption around town I can easil get 40+ mpg. My overall figure of 39mpg covers everything since new based on actual fuel used at the pumps rather than the trip gauge. The passemger seat rattle when empy is the seat belt buckle which I have to adjust to stop it rattling. Overall, apart from the paint very pleased but so I should be with a 51k car

Hi everyone. I have just completed a 500 mile round trip, out on Monday back yesterday. Nearly all motorway M5/M6 with rain virtually all the way. Car performed very well, was comfortable but obviously because of the weather conditions couldn't exploit the performance and had to keep to a sensible pace. Noticed a very slight rattle which appears to be from the passanger seat which I need to investigate but appart from that very quiet. ML system very good and now playing MP3 from a USB stick thanks to advice from Silver Arrow. However as it was dry this morning I gave the car a clean. What a shock as I found 3 chips on the bonnet and the bumper marked in about a dozen places. Not very happy and if it carries on like this not sure what it will be like in a few months time. Mileage so far 2400 and fuel from new has now been 39mpg actual at pumps.

Ok many thanks now got the USB working and it is very good. The original (old) USB I used must have been naff because I tried another one and it worked right away. Just another update, I did 100milee cross country round trip yesterday all A/B road and put it in sports+ Must say it handled beutifully and felt really taught. I'm also impressed by how quiet the car is particularly when cruising. all in all very pleased and it will be interesting to see how I feel over the next year and 25000 miles

Thanks for that i'll give it another try in a moment but I'm sure I did this last time. Just a quick question on the phone system if I can. I have tranferred all my contacts over from a Galaxy 2 without any problem. However when I receive an incoming call all I get is the number coming up, not the name. In my IS 250 the name came up. Any ideas? Many thanks